From the Campaign Trail
Ahead of early voting starting on Thursday (October 17th), we wanted to provide a substantial update from the campaign trail on three key races that directly impact North Carolina Farmers.
Steve Troxler Releases First TV Ad
Commissioner Steve Troxler released a TV ad highlighting his work as Agriculture Commissioner and affirming his commitment to protecting North Carolina’s farmlands and growing the economy.
Click here to watch the ad.
Sarah Taber, “PhD”: Misleading Statistics or Misunderstanding Agriculture?
Math-challenged Commissioner of Agriculture candidate Sarah Taber claimed to the News & Observer that Georgia and Virginia farmers earn almost twice the revenue from an acre of farmland than our hardworking North Carolina farmers.
That bizarre claim couldn’t be further from the truth. If she’d bothered to access the USDA’s Official Census of Agriculture, she would’ve known she was making false statements.
Either Sarah Taber needs to go back to school and learn basic math, or she intentionally used misleading statistics to sow confusion in the final weeks of her campaign – or maybe it’s both.
In any event, here are the facts:
One thing is for sure: Sarah Taber knows how to turn a phrase to make herself look informed and market her consulting business. However, when you drill down, her ideas come from an inexperienced ag consultant trying to cash in (build her business) by burnishing her credentials.
North Carolina’s farmers deserve better than misleading statistics and false comparisons. All North Carolinians deserve leaders who understand the true value of their hard work and the real numbers that reflect their contributions to our state’s economy.
Hurricane relief funding shows why farmers cannot trust Jeff Jackson as Attorney General
The General Assembly convened this week to provide the first round of funding to provide relief for Hurricane Helene victims. This funding came from North Carolina’s Rainy-Day fund to immediately provide relief for victims of storms; however, if Jeff Jackson had his way, North Carolina would have spent this money on progressive spending priorities. Unlike the federal government, state governments must balance their budgets and cannot print money, so they must save revenues for emergencies like hurricanes. During his time at the state legislature, Jackson voted against saving for emergencies, the funds that Hurricane Helene victims need to recover.
Sadly, this is part of Jackson’s long track record of supporting political activists over North Carolinians. While in the state legislature, he supported activists and trial lawyers against farmers on issue after issue.
- Jackson voted against the Agriculture and Forestry Nuisance Remedies Bill, limiting frivolous lawsuits.
- Jackson voted against the 2017 and 2018 Farm Acts, which restored and strengthened the right to farm after numerous trial lawyers sued hog farms in an attempt to put them out of business.
- In 2015, Jackson voted against the Property Protection Act, which deceptive activists’ schemes to gain access to farms to smear agriculture.
Farmers cannot count on Jackson to stand up for them if he’s elected as Attorney General. Farm families need someone they can count on, like Rep. Dan Bishop, the Republican nominee for Attorney General, who has consistently stood up for farmers. Check out his latest ad here.
Luke Farley Shines while Braxton Winston Fails to Defend His Horrible Record
Last week, Spectrum News aired the debate between Braxton Winston (D) and Luke Farley (R), the two candidates for Labor Commissioner. The debate provided a clear contrast between Farley, an experienced workplace safety lawyer focused on worker safety, and Winston, a defund the police activist who wants to promote unionization across North Carolina. Click here to watch it.
A key moment in the debate was when Farley challenged Winston to state whether he supported North Carolina’s right-to-work laws. Instead of supporting them, Winston advocated for unionizing every worker in North Carolina. Click here to watch the clip.
Family farms across North Carolina cannot afford the mass unionization of every worker, and many of them would go out of business. Frankly, it’s disqualifying. Mass unionization efforts would destroy North Carolina’s business environment from the coast to the mountains.